Downtown El Cajon space may become restaurant or retail

The city has said a final goodbye to an adult bookstore with the recent acquisition by local business owner Gabe Marrujo of the now empty space at 158 Main St.

Marrujo owns the Downtown Cafe and Por Favor, two restaurants that sit on either side of the space once occupied by the F Street Adult Gifts & Books.

The store, which had been open 24 hours a day, shut its doors last October. Marrujo closed escrow on the space recently, paying what Marrujo said was “a little more than the appraised value of $560,000.”

Marrujo, an El Cajon resident for nearly a quarter of a century, said he has wanted to buy the building for many years. Por Favor was started by his father, Guillermo Marrujo, in 1974, and moved to its Main Street digs in 1999. The Downtown Cafe opened in 2002.

“Why did I buy it?” Gabe Marrujo asked, rhetorically. “To help this area, clean it up. I want to help the downtown area and bring some retail, maybe an ice cream shop, anything we can convince (people) to come down here. We’ve been eying that property for years.”

F Street opened in 1980. It was exempt from laws passed in the city since the 1980s that effectively shut out other adult-oriented businesses.

“Twelve years ago, the F Street bookstore was the highest sales tax generator in downtown El Cajon,” City Councilman Gary Kendrick said. “It was in El Cajon’s ‘Skid Row.’ Drunks were lying out on the sidewalks. ... The F Street bookstore has been a blight on downtown El Cajon for almost 30 years, so this is a major milestone in the revitalization of downtown.”

Kendrick said that the success of redevelopment in downtown El Cajon “increased foot traffic downtown and scared away (F Street) customers.” He said that an increase in property values in downtown El Cajon “made it more profitable to sell the property than stay in business.”

Marrujo said a team of people is working to gut the building and that lights are on at night along with a new facade outside. He said he is seeking tenants and expects to see something new move into the vacant space in a couple of months. He said a big draw for future tenants will be the coming reopening of the nearby East County Performing Arts Center.

“Hopefully we can turn it into a restaurant or retail where people feel comfortable,” Marrujo said. “Especially for families bringing their kids.”

City Manager Doug Williford said the sale of the property “is just the latest example of how the city and our business community are working together to bring what we think is going to become a dramatic renewal of El Cajon.”

Williford named several success stories in the downtown, such as the coming renovation of ECPAC, the opening of Nicolosi’s Italian Restaurant, a new El Cajon farmers market and outdoor events that have attracted large numbers of visitors.

“We are looking forward to a new business moving into this space that will add to our downtown’s success,” Williford said.